David M. de León
@davidmdeleon.com
Writer, academic, poet, nerd 🇵🇷
PhD in literature and Black studies. MPhil in skullduggery.
Poetry in places.
Mixed everything. Genderqueer bi eraser
CUNY Hunter.
http://davidmdeleon.com
PhD in literature and Black studies. MPhil in skullduggery.
Poetry in places.
Mixed everything. Genderqueer bi eraser
CUNY Hunter.
http://davidmdeleon.com
Pinned
David M. de León
@davidmdeleon.com
· Nov 13
The Cats of Old San Juan – At Length
atlengthmag.com
This poem is the centerpiece of my collection The Cats of Old San Juan, published in At Length mag
atlengthmag.com/the-cats-of-...
atlengthmag.com/the-cats-of-...
Reposted by David M. de León
Remember to thank Rebecda Black today for inventing Fridays, we honor her today on Black Friday
November 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Remember to thank Rebecda Black today for inventing Fridays, we honor her today on Black Friday
Reposted by David M. de León
imagine if getting across town was just a totally inconsequential thing you could do without any drama or anything. nobody asks if you paid, nobody needs to see your pass, nobody bothers you at all. you get on, you go someplace, you get off.
doctor, park, work, food truck you saw online, whatever.
doctor, park, work, food truck you saw online, whatever.
October 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
imagine if getting across town was just a totally inconsequential thing you could do without any drama or anything. nobody asks if you paid, nobody needs to see your pass, nobody bothers you at all. you get on, you go someplace, you get off.
doctor, park, work, food truck you saw online, whatever.
doctor, park, work, food truck you saw online, whatever.
Reposted by David M. de León
Simply unbelievable.
And to think about what was coming in his honor in the near future . . . 🥺😔
There are no words but this was my offering, once.
For @markanthonyneal.bsky.social:
www.newblackmaninexile.net/2014/12/the-...
And to think about what was coming in his honor in the near future . . . 🥺😔
There are no words but this was my offering, once.
For @markanthonyneal.bsky.social:
www.newblackmaninexile.net/2014/12/the-...
The D’Angelo Cycle by I. Augustus Durham
The Digital Home for Duke University Professor and Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal
www.newblackmaninexile.net
October 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Simply unbelievable.
And to think about what was coming in his honor in the near future . . . 🥺😔
There are no words but this was my offering, once.
For @markanthonyneal.bsky.social:
www.newblackmaninexile.net/2014/12/the-...
And to think about what was coming in his honor in the near future . . . 🥺😔
There are no words but this was my offering, once.
For @markanthonyneal.bsky.social:
www.newblackmaninexile.net/2014/12/the-...
Reposted by David M. de León
D’Angelo?????????????????
October 14, 2025 at 4:05 PM
D’Angelo?????????????????
Reposted by David M. de León
D'Angelo. 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
October 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
D'Angelo. 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
I was thinking how ridiculous it is that things are cheaper when you buy a lot up front, and starting thinking why don't people band together to buy a lot of something and distribute it based on actual need, and then I realized I just invented communism.
October 3, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I was thinking how ridiculous it is that things are cheaper when you buy a lot up front, and starting thinking why don't people band together to buy a lot of something and distribute it based on actual need, and then I realized I just invented communism.
Reposted by David M. de León
don't let the system cleanse her the way they did bobby seal, huey, or afeni. learn your history.
(reposted with downloadable link for ebook readers)
📖 - archive.org/details/Assata
(reposted with downloadable link for ebook readers)
📖 - archive.org/details/Assata
Assata : Assata Shakur : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Assata ShakurAn autobiography1987
archive.org
September 26, 2025 at 11:16 PM
don't let the system cleanse her the way they did bobby seal, huey, or afeni. learn your history.
(reposted with downloadable link for ebook readers)
📖 - archive.org/details/Assata
(reposted with downloadable link for ebook readers)
📖 - archive.org/details/Assata
Reposted by David M. de León
Only an administration intent on committing war crimes in the present and future would stoop to calling Wounded Knee a "battle" rather than what it truly was: a massacre of over 250 Lakotas, mainly women, children, and the elderly. 1/
September 26, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Only an administration intent on committing war crimes in the present and future would stoop to calling Wounded Knee a "battle" rather than what it truly was: a massacre of over 250 Lakotas, mainly women, children, and the elderly. 1/
Reposted by David M. de León
More from the Suffolk University poll: www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suff...
Do you support or oppose "defund the police"?
Support - 21%
Oppose - 74%
Would you support or oppose cutting some of the police budget and using the money for social services?
Support - 54%
Oppose - 41%
Do you support or oppose "defund the police"?
Support - 21%
Oppose - 74%
Would you support or oppose cutting some of the police budget and using the money for social services?
Support - 54%
Oppose - 41%
September 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
More from the Suffolk University poll: www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suff...
Do you support or oppose "defund the police"?
Support - 21%
Oppose - 74%
Would you support or oppose cutting some of the police budget and using the money for social services?
Support - 54%
Oppose - 41%
Do you support or oppose "defund the police"?
Support - 21%
Oppose - 74%
Would you support or oppose cutting some of the police budget and using the money for social services?
Support - 54%
Oppose - 41%
Woke up thinking about Blue Prince puzzles again. Love/hate how easily my brain is nerdsniped by a good mystery.
September 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Woke up thinking about Blue Prince puzzles again. Love/hate how easily my brain is nerdsniped by a good mystery.
Thread
What we're seeing in the "don't sign up for protests" discourse is what Paulo Freire described as the convert's failure to trust the knowledge of the oppressed. As the convert tries to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, they refuse to let go of a world where they were the authority by default.
September 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Thread
I have multiple cis-men in my freshman comp class arguing that Drake won the rap battle, which just seems culturally, socially, and literarily (and legally?) incorrect.
September 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I have multiple cis-men in my freshman comp class arguing that Drake won the rap battle, which just seems culturally, socially, and literarily (and legally?) incorrect.
Reposted by David M. de León
i have said this before but when “getting rid of race in admissions” for the administration means “you can’t even try to reach out to underrepresented communities and encourage them to apply and if you do it is illegal discrimination against white people” then the actual goal here is segregation
Harvard Ends Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program as Trump Targets Race in Admissions | News | The Harvard Crimson
By ending the minority recruitment program in May, Harvard shuttered a more than 50-year-old initiative to encourage minority high school students to apply.
www.thecrimson.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:16 PM
i have said this before but when “getting rid of race in admissions” for the administration means “you can’t even try to reach out to underrepresented communities and encourage them to apply and if you do it is illegal discrimination against white people” then the actual goal here is segregation
"Bella Ciao" was also featured in Far Cry 6, in addition to Hearts of Iron.
National political reporters: consult your gaming desk. You likely have a massively blind spot — this isn’t a dig at anyone, because I have this blind spot too b/c I’m not a gamer and am trying to adjust for it in real time — covering this very important moment if u don’t game & don’t know the memes
September 14, 2025 at 5:56 AM
"Bella Ciao" was also featured in Far Cry 6, in addition to Hearts of Iron.
Speaking of which, we never did figure out why the guy who shot at Trump did it, did we? Bet the FBI is working hard to clear up that mystery.
September 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Speaking of which, we never did figure out why the guy who shot at Trump did it, did we? Bet the FBI is working hard to clear up that mystery.
It's like we've all been preparing for the slow decadent decline of empire and not the swift violent collapse.
September 10, 2025 at 10:08 PM
It's like we've all been preparing for the slow decadent decline of empire and not the swift violent collapse.
Reposted by David M. de León
Read this whole thread because sometimes when folks hear “race is the key” they forget it’s how White people manipulate other white people
...The goal was to turn Kirk into an "anti-white" caricature while slowly injecting their invective into mainstream GOP youth convos, and positions themselves as a sort of cool, outsider insurgency that, unlike Kirk, was willing to say Hard Truths out loud before it was too late for the White Man...
September 10, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Read this whole thread because sometimes when folks hear “race is the key” they forget it’s how White people manipulate other white people
Reposted by David M. de León
I keep saying this. The Right fundamentally are *not* hypocrites. They believe in double standards. For them, double standards are correct, inevitable, and desirable, because the idea that certain groups are better than others and should therefore have more rights is the basis of right-wing ideology
No, the fake “free speech” crowd isn’t going to defend the professor fired for teaching exactly what her course was about. We can stop noting those “failures” now. Let’s move on from calling them hypocrites. They’re not hypocrites! They’re fascists, authoritarians, or apologist.
September 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I keep saying this. The Right fundamentally are *not* hypocrites. They believe in double standards. For them, double standards are correct, inevitable, and desirable, because the idea that certain groups are better than others and should therefore have more rights is the basis of right-wing ideology
Coming back to teaching writing after a few years and my students are using AI for both the reading and the writing and don't think there's any problem with that. I don't want to set an adversarial tone by fighting them every day, but I also don't want them to fail to learn basic critical thinking.
September 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Coming back to teaching writing after a few years and my students are using AI for both the reading and the writing and don't think there's any problem with that. I don't want to set an adversarial tone by fighting them every day, but I also don't want them to fail to learn basic critical thinking.
In the years since I pulled my poetry book from that shady publisher I've seen so many other books from people I've worked with find good homes and acclaim. I'm happy for them, and also sad that I still haven't been able to do that for my manuscript.
September 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
In the years since I pulled my poetry book from that shady publisher I've seen so many other books from people I've worked with find good homes and acclaim. I'm happy for them, and also sad that I still haven't been able to do that for my manuscript.
Reposted by David M. de León
This is appalling. As I've said before, giving DL control of an annual anthology for 35 years was a mistake. BAP is a deeply reactionary project thru which DL launders his ideology (& ego!) via a rotating cast of "ecumenical" editors. It's an unequivocal good that this year's edition is the last.
Ok so in case yall missed the memo like I did. David Lehman, series editor of Best American Poetry is a Zionist ass. Literally feel embarrassed that I wound up in this situation. I was literally the only person of color in a room of 50+ people. It was terrifying.
#poetry #bestamericanpoetry
#poetry #bestamericanpoetry
September 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
This is appalling. As I've said before, giving DL control of an annual anthology for 35 years was a mistake. BAP is a deeply reactionary project thru which DL launders his ideology (& ego!) via a rotating cast of "ecumenical" editors. It's an unequivocal good that this year's edition is the last.
Four years after handing in my dissertation, I sent the second draft of my academic book, Epic Black, back to @dukeuniversitypress. There's too many people to thank on this journey so I'm just gonna go out and try to get some sun.
September 1, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Four years after handing in my dissertation, I sent the second draft of my academic book, Epic Black, back to @dukeuniversitypress. There's too many people to thank on this journey so I'm just gonna go out and try to get some sun.
I've noticed a tipping point somewhere between 12 and 24 students where the vibe goes from an engaged and interested community to a group of suspicious and defensive strangers. Is this just a human thing or can something be done? #teaching
August 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I've noticed a tipping point somewhere between 12 and 24 students where the vibe goes from an engaged and interested community to a group of suspicious and defensive strangers. Is this just a human thing or can something be done? #teaching
Reposted by David M. de León
I spent the 2010's arguing with my white colleagues that we were facing a crisis in newsroom diversity. The smart, dedicated, talented cis white journalists I thought of as my friends didn't want to hear it. Most of them ignored me. At least one of them told me to go to hell.
The only thing I can say about this paragraph is read it. Sit with it. Read it again. @michaelharriot.bsky.social
August 22, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I spent the 2010's arguing with my white colleagues that we were facing a crisis in newsroom diversity. The smart, dedicated, talented cis white journalists I thought of as my friends didn't want to hear it. Most of them ignored me. At least one of them told me to go to hell.
Sounds like the real problem is pay and work
Grad school social media is wild:
“Congrats on joining the system that will underpay and overwork you!”
followed immediately by:
“Congrats on finally escaping the system that underpaid and overworked you!”
And we all clap like seals either way.
Pick a side, folks.
#academicsky #phdsky
“Congrats on joining the system that will underpay and overwork you!”
followed immediately by:
“Congrats on finally escaping the system that underpaid and overworked you!”
And we all clap like seals either way.
Pick a side, folks.
#academicsky #phdsky
August 22, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Sounds like the real problem is pay and work